The Christmas Legume
by DKGWrites
Summary: What do you get for the hero that has everything? A SuperCorp Christmas story.


Kara walked into the living room, a cup of herbal tea in one hand and a mug of hot cocoa in the other. She placed the tea on the coffee table in front of Lena and sat on the couch as she said, "Okay, the Christmas cactus is dead."

Pausing in the middle of reaching for her tea, Lena turned to look at Kara. "What do you mean, it's dead?"

Kara shrugged as she took a sip of cocoa. "I mean rest in peace cactus; you will be sorely missed. What else could I mean?"

Falling back into the couch again, Lena fiddled with the simple gold band on her ring finger. "Kara, what did you do to the cactus?"

"What, me?" Kara shook her head as she put her cocoa on the coffee table. "Sometimes plants just die, Lena. It doesn't mean I killed it."

"Kara." Lena inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. "The pothos died in your care. Something mysterious happened to the aloe plant. The English Ivy just… how does one kill an English Ivy, Kara?"

Kara shrugged.

"Kara, you killed a Spider plant. I would have bet a sizeable portion of money on that being safe in anyone's care, but you killed a Spider plant in less than a month. You could have left the cutting in a glass of water and it would have survived. What happened?"

"I… I'm just not good with things that can't tell me they need something. Plants are too quiet, Lena. They're bad communicators."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Kara. Did you over water the cactus? Is that what happened?"

"No, definitely not."

"Then what?" Lena sighed. "Kara, you could have ignored it for a week, and it would have been fine. How can you possibly kill a cactus in a week?"

Turning away from Lena, Kara murmured something incomprehensible as she picked up her mug and took another sip of cocoa.

"What was that?"

"I… I said it was an accident."

"So, it was floral manslaughter."

"Okay, well that sounds way worse than it was, Lena. Can't we just drop it?"

Taking her tea from the table, Lena took a sip before replying, "You're the one who wants a dog, Kara. We agreed that if you can keep a plant alive for a year, you get a dog. So far nothing has lasted a month."

"But plants don't tell you when they're hungry."

Putting her drink back on the table, Lena said, "They do. You just need to pay attention. You're just busy, and then you hurry. Is that what happened to the cactus?"

"I… maybe. Promise you won't get mad?"

Putting her hand on Kara's leg, Lena said, "Darling when do I get mad at you."

Kara opened and closed her mouth, her lips pursing. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

With a sigh, Lena replied, "Just tell me what happened to the cactus, Kara. I won't get mad."

"Okay. So, yesterday when you made breakfast, I was just coming back from that apartment fire, remember?"

Lena nodded.

"I was rushing, and you put out food. We both had to get ready for work, but I wanted to take care of the cactus. So I got a glass of water so I could water it. Then you told me I had soot on my face, and I went to wash off my face. You remember, right?"

"I remember. So, this is my fault?"

"No, no, sweetie. I'm just explaining. So, I came back and watered the cactus, and then I was having breakfast. I was part way through breakfast when I noticed something was wrong."

Brows furrowed, Lena asked, "What was wrong?"

"You gave me orange juice with breakfast."

"You love orange juice."

"I do," Kara agreed, "but I was drinking water."

Eyes wide, Lena said, "You poured orange juice on the cactus?"

"Fun fact, acid is bad for them."

"Oh, Kara."

"You said you wouldn't get mad. You promised."

Squeezing Kara's leg again, Lena nodded. "I promised. Well, good timing. I have one last Christmas gift for you."

Kara lit up. "Is it a puppy?"

"No, it's not a puppy, you slayer of vegetation. Here." Reaching around the side of the couch, Lena pulled out a smallish gift bag and a card. She handed Kara the gift bag and held onto the card. "Open the bag first."

"Okay, and you're not mad?"

Giving Kara a brief kiss, Lena said, "I'm not mad. Just open your gift."

Kara pulled off the festive tissue paper, the smile on her face fading slightly as she removed the contents of the bag. Inside were: a four inch ceramic pot, a small bag of potting soil, and a single peanut in its shell, not the normal double kind.

Smiling a bit awkwardly at Lena, Kara said, "I don't get it."

"Growing peanuts is incredibly simple, and you're going to do it."

"Oh." Kara frowned slightly at the peanut, then smiled again as she looked up at Lena again. "Then I can get a puppy?"

"If a puppy is what you want, then yes. I promise, darling. Here." She handed over the card.

Placing the contents of the bag off to the side, Kara opened the card. A slip of paper fell out and she caught it. Kara examined the blurred image, turning it over as she tried to make out the image.

"Is this space? Where is this? What sector is this? The image is really grainy. It must be really far away."

"Look at the card, Kara."

Kara opened the card and read it silently, _"Kara, Merry Christmas. We keep waiting and waiting for every stage in our lives. I'm tired of waiting. At nine weeks, the baby is the size of a peanut. Merry Christmas from me and our peanut. Lee."_

Lips moving with no sounds coming out, Kara re-read the words on the card. She looked at the image in her hand again. Her gaze flicked from the card to the image one more time while she blinked, and her breathing accelerated.

Finally, gaze lifting, she met Lena's and simply said, "Lee?"

Lena nodded.

Holding up the image, Kara said, "This is a…? We're…?"

"Yes, Kara. We're pregnant."

Sliding back, Kara put the card and image on the couch and wiped her face with her hand. "But… You said you wanted to wait."

"I know what I said. It's what I keep saying. I said I wanted to wait until we got Jeremiah back, and we did that. I said I didn't feel safe with Hank out there, and he's locked up. Then I said until my mother was arrested I'd be too worried, and she's being arraigned. I keep saying I want to wait. I keep saying it."

"You said that after her trial—"

"I did, but then there would have been appeals. What would I have said then? Would I have said wait, wait until her appeals are exhausted? How long would I have put off our family, Kara?"

Kara nodded, her eyes unfocused.

"Are you all right? I thought this was what we both wanted. We discussed this and—"

"Lena." Kara slid to her knees in front of Lena, placing trembling hands on Lena's abdomen. "A baby."

"A baby," Lena agreed.

"I didn't … " Kara licked her lips, blinking up at Lena. "Nine weeks?"

With a gentle smile, Lena nodded. "Nine weeks."

"Who—?"

"Only Alex knows. The procedure was done at the DEO, just like we'd discussed. Alex said it would be about two months before we knew if things were viable though so..." Lena shrugged. "Nine weeks." When Kara was silent, Lena reached out and placed a hand on Kara's arm giving it a gentle squeeze. "I've wanted to tell you, but I knew this would kill you if it was unsuccessful. You've already lost so much."

Kara's hands gently ran across Lena's still flat abdomen, and she didn't speak.

"Are you all right?"

"We're going to be parents?"

Reaching down to push blonde strands behind her wife's ears, Lena replied, "Yes, we're going to have a daughter. I know it's not a puppy, but do you think that would be all right?"

Kara's lower lips trembled as tears began to spill down her cheeks. "We're going to have a daughter. I… It's…"

"It's amazing what a little science and a lot of love can accomplish."

Finally smiling, Kara wrapped her arms around Lena, her cheek flat against the woman's belly. "You hear that, peanut? Your brilliant and amazing Mommy and Aunt Alex did it. Welcome to the Luthor-Danvers family."

"We'll have to discuss names. I'm sure we can do better than peanut." Lena played with Kara's hair while she spoke.

Looking up, Kara grinned. "I like peanut."

"Kara, we are not calling our daughter peanut. That is not going on a birth certificate."

"You're famous. You can get away with it."

"No."

"Is it the L thing? What about Lima Bean or Legume? They both start with Ls."

Lena opened her mouth to reply, but seeing the smile on her wife's face, only smiled in return. "Kiss me."

Hopping up onto the couch, Kara embraced Lena and kissed her. "Lena, this is the best Christmas present ever."

Lena laughed and pressed another kiss to her wife's lips. "An even better gift than a dog?"

"Absolutely." Kara placed her hand on Lena's abdomen, smiling adoringly as she looked there. "I love you and I already love our peanut. I didn't think I could, but you've proven me wrong. You've made me the happiest woman in the galaxy."

Leaning against Kara, Lena placed her hand over Kara's on her abdomen. "Co-happiest woman. You're going to have to share that title with me. I love you both."

Kara nodded, and they sat in silence together for several moments. They held each other, smiling, hands pressed together above their child.

Finally, Kara cleared her throat. "Lena?"

"Yes, darling."

"Do you know what a child needs?"

"A good family and unconditional love?"

Kara nodded as she turned toward Lena, attempting to adjust her currently non-existent glasses. "Yes, yes that. A child needs all of that but also," Kara grinned broadly, "a dog."

Lena blinked several times, then cracked up laughing. "Kara, you're a dog with a bone."

Kara grabbed her phone off of the coffee table. "I'm going to call Alex. I need to tell her she's going to be an aunt."

"Kara, Alex already—"

"Alex!" Kara stood, smiling into her phone as she walked across the living room. "Guess what? You're going to be an aunt! We're pregnant!" Kara laughed. "Oh, yeah, right. Well, do the girls know they're going to have a little cousin?"

As Kara spoke, Lena shook her head. She took her tea from the table and her iPad from the couch. As she sipped her drink, she opened a page to the National City Animal Shelter. Looking up at her excited wife chatting with her sister-in-law, Lena smiled. "Merry Christmas, my love."


End file.
